


Now What's Rule 5

by ImActualFandomTrash



Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Zombie Apocalypse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-31
Updated: 2019-04-15
Packaged: 2019-12-30 02:20:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18306218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImActualFandomTrash/pseuds/ImActualFandomTrash
Summary: Callum lived behind the safe zone wall's most of his life in safety, only having few memories of what the decaying world outside was like.Rayla lives out in the dangerous wilderness, traveling around with a group, raiding other camps and only cared about her own survival.When the raiders attack the safe zone of Katolis, the infected flood inside, causing panic. For the first time in his life, Callum is separated from his younger brother and everyone he knows, now alone out in the world of the living dead. Rayla, separated from her group, runs into Callum, and the two decide to partner together, to look for Callum's family and survive.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I love Rayla and Callum a lot, so here's a story about them!

The rain was pouring down on the man, as he walked slowly back to the safe zone,  his crossbow in his arms, held up in case an infected attacked him by surprise. It was hard to see through the darkness and the rain, the only source of light the man had was the occasional flash of lighting. 

As a flash of lightning happened, the the sound of the thunder had passed after it, the man heard a sound coming from his left. He quickly spun around, his crossbow raised in the direction of the noise. "Who's there" he called out, as he always did when hearing something he didn't know. 

There was silence for for a moment, until another flash of lighting struck, illuminating the old city streets. There, in front of him, in the alleyway, 5, or 6 figures stood, hiding behind the wall's and old dumpsters, starring at him.

They weren't infected, since the infected wouldn't be so quiet and still and just staring. Infected would be moving towards him when he spoke, and would be making groaning noises. These weren't people desperate for help, or else they would have came forth and asked for help. No, these guys didn't want to be seen. They wanted to ambush him.

Fear flared up in the man, as he quickly spun away and ran. He had heard of the rumors of bandits, raiders and violent groups, but he didn't think they would be so close, especially close to the safe zone.

As he ran, he heard a pair of footsteps behind him, that came closer and closer. Wanting to loose them, the man quickly took a turn into an alleyway. However, the quick action along with the wet ground, caused the man to slip, having him hit against a wall. 

He hissed in pain the came to his back after hitting the hard surface, and his ankle which was probably twisted from turning quickly. He grasped at his ankle, hoping to ease the pain, even a little bit. Distracted by the pain, and the sound of the thundering rain, he hadn't even notice someone was standing before him.

He was reminded however, when something was shoved close to his throat, and he froze, looking up at his pursuer. Even in the dark, he could tell they were young by their size, but it was hard to see their face with their hood pulled up and blocking out the light from the lightning.

He felt his heart racing in his chest. Was this it? Was this how he was going to die? If they were going to kill him, they should at least aim for his head. He didn't want to come back as one of those, those things.

Moments pass, the the person didn't do anything, just staring at him. The man was preparing for the cold knife to end him, but it never came. Instead, he felt the knife being pulled back slowly, and the figure hesitantly standing back up, and took a step away from him.

He didn't know if they were letting him live, or planing to do something else with him, so he took the chance to get up, and limp away as quickly as he could make himself. He didn't hear them following him, which he was glad about. 

He had to report this to the higher ups.

____________________

"Callum! Callum look at this!".

Callum lifted his head up from his drawing book, and over towards the bedroom door, where his younger brother stood, holding something in his hands. 

"What is it Ez?".

"Well, when I was out close to the stream, I found this just floating down towards me. Do you know what this could be?" Ezran asked his older brother, walking over to him, and held his hands towards him to show the object in his hand.

Callum set his drawing book down next to him on the bed and looked at whatever his brother was holding. It was small, and wet from being in the stream that was close to the safe zone wall's not to far away. It had a block like shape, and from what Callum could see even though it was covered in wet mud, it was made of plastic, and had paint on it.

Callum let out a small chuckle at the sight of the small item, before reaching out and taking it into his own hands, wiping away the mud with his gloved hand, already guessing what the small object may be. As the mud was wiped away, Callum looked down at it, and smiled.

"I haven't seen one of these in years".

"What is it? Tell meeeeeee!" Ezran asked Callum, sitting next to now and looking down at the item in his brothers hand. 

"It's a logo person" Callum spoke, looking down at the familiar toy in his hand. It looked to have seen better days, some of the paint on it fading away and it was missing a arm, but it was clear that from what he can remember, it was that green ninja Lego toy, judging by the serious expression painted on to its face and the costume painted on it.

"Lego person?" Ezra asked, giving a confused look up towards Callum, not understanding what he meant.

"Yeah. When I was younger, I remember these use to be a very popular toy" Callum explained. "They were very small blocks, and you could build sets and vehicles out of them, and then you would have guys like these," Callum spoke, pointing down at the toy. "Would be the characters. There was a lot of different Lego sets. There were ones based on movies like batman and marvel, some based on shows and more".

"That sounds so cool. So who was this guy?" Ezran asked as he looked to the Lego person in his brothers hand. "I think it's a green ninja, but I never really got into watching the show" Callum replied as he gave Ezran the small figure back. 

"That's cool I guess. So what do I do with it?".  
"You play with it, let your imagination go wild. Create a story and play, like what we use to do when we were younger with the wooden figures Aunt Amaya made us" Callum told his brother, smiling at the memory of when he was younger and Ezran was only around 4 years old, playing with the small wooden animals his aunt made for them.

Ezran lit up at the thought, and began imagining a story.  "I have one! Many years ago, the Green Ninja was a powerful ninja, until one day, a magical Hippo made of taffy came, and chomped off his arm, after the Green Ninja accidentally eat the hippos favorite jelly tart collection! Now, the ninja goes in search of the fatty hippo, along with his monkey Zoony who can fly, and his magical fire bird fefe!" Ezran explained with excitement, causing Callum to laugh. 

It always amazed Callum how his younger brother had such an active imagination, and could think of the weirdest things off the top of his head.

"Great story Ez, now go and play" Callum told his brother as he watched him jump off the bed and make his way to the bedroom door, before turning back around to him. "Oh I almost forgot, on my way here, I ran into dad, and he said he wanted to see you" Ezran told Callum, before running out the door with his new toy in hand, and running off to who knows where.

Callum sighed. Whenever that man called him for something, it was usually something important, which was rarely good. On the odd occasion, it wasn't something important and he would just want to see how Callum was doing, but as said, it says on the odd occasion.

Callum got up off his bed and walked out of the old dormitories where many people slept, having their own rooms, but most having to be shared, like how Callum had to share a room with his brother. As he walked down the hallways towards the staircase, he glanced around. The old wallpaper on the walls had been peeling off for a few good years now, and the smell of mold sat in the air. It was musky but everyone was use to that by now from living in these conditions for years now. 

Callum got to the staircase and walked down quickly,  the wood creaking under his feet. Callum always had the fear of the old stairs breaking under his weight, so he always moved quickly, and was soon outside. 

Once he opened the steel door's, the light hit his eye's, causing Callum to squint a bit to get use to the setting sun's light. After a moment, Callum quickly walked across the courtyard and towards the streets, towards the center square of the safe zone. 

As Callum walked through the mostly empty street towards his destination, and looking up at the old brick building that were covered in vines and dirt from not having the best maintenance, Callum thought about the situation they all found themselves in. 

For most of his life, Callum has been living in behind these wall's of the safe zone that was in the center of the city. A lot of people lived here, coming for safety, and not wanting to be left outside where it was dangerous, and where the infected where.

It was sometimes hard to remember what it was like before the outbreak. He remembered being around 6 years old when it all happened. That day was very clear to him. His mother ushering him out of his room late at night, telling him they had to go, and to pack things in a hurry. Most of that night was a blur to him since he was still tired, being awoken at 2 in the morning, but he remembered as his mother carried him out of their home, they saw as some people attacked others on the street, acting strangely and moved unnaturally, holding down their victims and biting into them violently.

Himself and his mother would have been victims of the same fate, if it wasn't for his mother's new husband Harrow who had arrived. Callum remember being so scared, and refused to sleep for long for day's after those events. All the events that happened after that first night were a blurry, and Callum guessed he suppressed those memories so much that he can no longer remember them.

The next thing he knew, he was here. For day's, he was quiet and scared, never leaving his room, and when he did, he would cling to his mother. He hated the days when his mother would go out to scavenge with a small group, and would have to leave for a few hours, which always felt like days to him. He remembered on the rare occasions when she would take him out herself, even against Harrow's protests.

And maybe they should have listened...

Callum suddenly felt two pair of hands grab on to his shoulders harshly, and he jumped, pulling away and turning around to see who his attacker was, only to see a familiar girl laughing.

"Hahahaha! You should have seen your face!" The girl laughed loudly, doubling over in her laughing fit.  
"That wasn't funny Claudia!" Callum raised his voice, hating when his friend would scare him out of his skin like that. He should be use to it by now after all these year's, but it still got to him.

"S-sorry, I couldn't help it" Claudia apologized to Callum, wiping a tear out of her eye as she calmed down and stood up straight. "So where you heading off to?" Claudia questioned the younger boy.

"Harrow wants to see me".

"Uh oh, that's not good".

"That's true, whenever he wants to talk to me, it means it's something important".

"Well I better not hold you up any longer. Go talk to him, and later maybe you can swing by the med-bay?" Claudia asked him, as she took a few steps away from him in the direction she was heading off to. Callum nodded. "Yeah sure thing. See you later Claudia" Callum replied as he waved his hand goodbye to her. "Alright, later Callum!" Claudia called out as they parted ways and made their ways towards their destination.

Callum continued on his way towards where he suspected Harrow to be. Usually, he would be at the front gates, on top of the wall when there was something important to be discussed.

So, that's where Callum went, walking through the safe zone, towards the gates, and running into a few people, some of them going about their day, while some were on their to patrol the wall's like every other night.

Sure enough, when Callum got to the front gates, above them on the walkway, was Harrow, hands behind his back and looking out to whatever may be beyond the safe zone wall's.

The boy took in a breath. Calm down. He just wanted to talk. Whatever he wants to talk about, might not even be that bad. No reason to worry. No reason to panic. 

Slowly, Callum climbed up the metal ladder, and soon made his way on to the walkway, only a few feet away from Harrow. Hearing that his step-son had arrived, Harrow turned around to the boy who was now standing by the leader, looking at him.

"Ah Callum, I see you have arrived. I was scared Ezran might have forgotten to tell you that I needed to speak to you" Harrow spoke joyfully, but even to Callum, the joys in his tone sounded wrong. That wasn't a good sign.

"Yeah he told me. Said you wanted to talk to me, which much mean it's important" Callum spoke, walking over to Harrow and standing next to his step-father. Harrow's smile dropped slowly and he looked away from Callum. 

Okay, that's definitely not a good sign.

"What's wrong?" Callum asked with worry and concern in his tone. He watched as the man sighed.

"This morning, one of our scavengers caught sight of a group. They attacked him with the intent to kill, and we worry to believe that these people are raiders".

Callum froze. This wasn't the first time he heard about raiders. Multiple times when walking down an alleyway, he would over hear guards talking to one another about news of raiders.

"Did ya hear 'bout the camp close to da river a while 'way? Around 10 hours in car? Apparently it was ambushed by some raiders not to long 'go " He would  hear them say not to long ago. He was away of small camps being attacked, but he wouldn't imagine them attacking a safe zone like this.

"Raiders? You don't think they could attack here, right? Raiders wouldn't have the strength to attack a safe zone like this. What reasons would they have to attack us?" Callum questioned the man. Before Harrow could get a word out, another voice joined in.

"It's because we have power and resources they want". Callum and Harrow turned their heads to see the second in command, Viren. Callum groaned. Uck, Viren. Callum didn't really like Harrow's friend. It was obvious he had the best intentions, but some of his choices over the years just didn't sit well with Callum.

"Raiders break in and destroy communities, take whatever they can, and leave nothing behind. Many of the people who come to us for help or shelter are those who come from those camps" Viren explained as he walked closer, and looked down at the street beyond the wall's. 

"Then what should we do? If these raiders come and destroy our safe zone, many of us are going to be killed within a day of being out in the city" Callum questioned the two men. Harrow thought for a moment.

"Viren, I want you to gather all our guards and summon them to the center, where I'll explain our plan" Harrow ordered, which Viren bowed his head to, before turning and leaving.

"And Callum" Harrow spoke, catching the boys attention. Callum watched as Harrow gave him a serious look, which was rare, and quiet unsettling to see the man wear. When Harrow was serious, it must mean it was very very serious.

"I want you to go to my room, and under the bed, is a handgun, along with 5 packs of amo. I want you to take those, and go back to your room and pack yours and Ezran's things, along with some water and food. If anything happens, I want you and your brother to run".

Callum just stared at the man for a solid minute in disbelief. What was he talking about? Was the situation that bad? Why would he need a gun!? Callum has never handled a gun in his life! 

"W-where would we run to?" Callum asked, his voice shaking a little bit. 

"Remember the old escape pipe at the other side of the safe zone?" Harrow asked, which Callum nodded to. "I want you and Ezran to escape from there. I want you two to get out of the safe zone, and make your way towards the closest camp to here that's allied with us" Harrow explained seriously.

Callum couldn't believe what he was hearing. 

"B-but what if there's something in our way that prevents us from getting to the escape pipe? W-what if there are infected in the pipes? W-what if me or Ez get bitten!? What will we do then!? What if we can't find the camp, or its destroyed? W-what if-".

"Callum!"

Callum stopped his panicked rambling and looked back at Harrow, who now had more of a saddened look across his face.

"What were the rules your mother would repeat to you".

Callum felt himself stiffen at those words. He remembered all the rules his mother ever thought and told him.

"One, never go by yourself. Two, always have a weapon. Three, always have an escape plan if going into somewhere. Four, don't trust people to easily. Five..."

"Whats number five Callum".

"Five, if bitten, aim for the head". 

"Good. Have you been telling Ezran those rules like you promised?".

"Every night, just as promised".

"Good. Now get going, no time to waste" Harrow spoke, patting Callum's shoulder, before turning away. Callum stood there for a moment, taking in all the information, before quickly turning away and going back down the ladder.

Once his feet hit the ground, Callum took off running, his eye's burning as tears treated to fall. He hated this. He didn't believe this situation would be this serious. It's just a bunch of raises. It isn't that serious, right?


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Harrow's orders, Callum returns to his room to explain to Ezran their situation.   
> Somewhere else, a young girl goes back to their temporary hideout, and is told the plans for that nights raid.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter :D  
> Not as long as I would like it to be, but I'll make sure next chapter is much longer!

Callum had slowed down to a walk now, and was already at the dormitories, on the top floor where his father's room was. Callum grabbed the rusty handle, and pushed opened the door slowly, and peered inside.

The room was mostly dark, since the light curtains covered the window's, and it was getting much darker now. His father's room was pretty empty, only having a king sized bed, a small desk, and that was pretty much it.

Callum walked inside, and over towards the bed. As he got to the side of the bed, he bent down on to the floor, and looked under it. There, as Harrow had said, was a hand gun, just laying there. Callum looked at the weapon for a moment, taking in the sight of it, before hesitantly reaching out and grabbing it.

Callum pulled it out from under the bed, and held it in his hands carefully. The gun in his hands was a silver grey color, and felt cold to the touch. It was also heavy in Callum's hands, but not as heavy as he remembered when he first held a gun.

The boy examined the gun, and made sure the safety lock was on, which it wasn't. Not wanting to fire the gun accidentally, Callum did the responsible thing and put the safety on. Once satisfied, Callum looked back under the bed, looking for the amo Harrow spoke of, but found non.

A bit confused, Callum stood back up, and looked over towards the desk. Maybe it was in there in one of the drawers? Callum walked over to the desk, and opened the first drawer and to his look, he found the amo he was looking for.

Callum put the gun through his belt where it sat comfortably. Callum held the handle of the weapon around to make sure it was secure, which it was. Satisfied, Callum reached for the boxes of amo, and held them in his hands.

As he held them, Callum couldn't push the sinking feeling away that was in his stomach. He just couldn't comprehend that he had to carry a weapon. The only time he ever got to hold a gun was when this whole outbreak first started, when he first came to the safe zone. It was mandatory that everyone knew how to use a gun.

Callum remember his mother being the one to teach him. He remembered as he held the heavy weapon in his small hands, and his mother instructing him how to use the gun, telling him step by step how to turn on and off the safety mechanism. How it's important that if he ever in countered an infected, that he should always aim for the head.

Callum left the bedroom, and down the hallways back towards his and Ezran's room that was on the second level of the building. A few people saw him on his way down, and when questioned why he was carrying amo, Callum would just say, "Harrow requested it", and left it at that.

Soon, Callum reached his shared room, and pushed the door opened with his shoulder, and was surprised that Ezran was in the bedroom, on the floor and playing with his new toy and some of his old ones.

"O-oh, hey Ez, what are you doing here?" Callum questioned. Usually, Ezran would be out, playing by the stream at this time, or would be making his way back by now. Ezran looked up to Callum when he asked him the question. "Well, I wanted to play with the Green Ninja, and was scared that if I brought him to the stream, Bait would eat him".

"You mean that weird frog that you named?".

"Yeah him".

Ezran then caught sight of the small boxes in his brothers arms, and gave him a curious look. "What are those?".

Callum looked down at the boxes, and walked passed Ezran and towards his bed, setting the boxes down. Ezran stayed silent, waiting for Callum to speak instead of pressuring him with questions. After a moment, Callum turned back to Ezran and sat down to his level on to the ground in front of him.

"Ezran, I need to tell you something really important, and you need to be calm and mature about this, okay?" Callum spoke, and Ezran only nodded.

"Basically, Har- I mean, dad, had gotten news that there are some bad people coming, and soon. He's worried that these people will get in and hurt people here in the safe zone, so, he wants us to be ready to leave in case that does happen" Callum explained as best he could.

"What? What kind of bad people, and leave? Leave to where?" Ezran questioned Callum, a hint of confusion and fear in his voice. Callum didn't blame him. Ezran had never seen an infected, or has spent most of his life inside the wall's since he was 2 years old. For something bad to happen all of a sudden, was probably a bit hard to understand.

"Well, these people like to break into camps like ours, take things and hurt people. They don't care about anyone but themselves, and won't hesitate to do things. As where dad wants us to leave to, he said towards a camp close by".

"You mean like aunt Amaya's?".

"Yeah like her camp not to far I guess" Callum replied.

Ezran only nodded, processing the information. It was kinda scary to him. He knew dad faced a lot of dangers before, but for him to prepare them to leave, was scary.

"But don't worry, I'll make sure we're both safe if anything happens, no matter what" Callum reassured Ezran with a more positive tone, as he ruffled his younger brother's hair, causing him to laugh.

"Now, what do we do every night?" Callum asked Ezran as he pulled his hand back.

"Go over the 5 rules".

"Good. What's rules number one?".

"Never go by yourself".

"Good. Rule two?"

"Always have a weapon".

"That's good. Three?"

"Always have an escape plan when going somewhere new".

"That's right. Rule four?".

"Don't trust new people easily".

"Now whats rule five?".

Ezran never liked rule five. It always made him feel sick even saying that rule. He hated that rule.

"If bitten, aim for the head..."

"...yeah, that's right. Now, what will you do if I get bitten".

Callum never liked asking Ezran that sixth question. It's one he made up himself, since he always had the fear that it would be the two of them one day, and if he was bitten, Ezran would have to know what to do.

"...If your bitten, either aim for your head, or run..." Ezran replied sadly.

Callum frowned. He knew that the thought of him turning scared Ezran, a lot. He remembered two years ago or so, when he came down with a fever and sent to the medical ward, Ezran cried cause he thought Callum was infected, since fever is a effect of getting bitten. It took Ezran a while to stop crying, only calming down once he was told that Callum wasn't bitten.

When he came to visit Callum in that medical ward, Ezran started crying again, saying he was scared Callum had turned and would leave him.

Callum never wanted Ezran to see him as an infected, and always gave him the choice to either kill him, or run away. He wouldn't mind which one his brother would choose. Personally himself, Callum would rather be shot then left as a infected, but he wouldn't want Ezran to be the one to kill him.

"Yeah. Your very smart for remembering" Callum spoke, as she stood up and once again ruffled Ezran's hair. "I'm just gonna pack a few of our things, and once I'm done, I could play with you if you want?" Callum told Ezran, a small smile on his lips.

Ezran looked up to his brother with a wide smile. "Really!?". Callum laughed and nodded. "I haven't played your silly games in a long time, so why not?". Ezran's smile grew wider and nodded. "Okay then!".

____________________

The girl walked down the street, looking down at her hunting knife that glistened in the setting suns light. She let out a sigh. "Runaan isn't going to be happy about me letting that guy go" she spoke to herself, a small spike of fear stabbing her. She was scared. Scared of upsetting her the man, and letting their group down for not killing that man. Why didn't she kill him!?

The white haired girl looked around her surrounding area, and spotted a few infected corps that laid around and were scattered across the street. A idea popped into her head. The girl jogged over to the closet body, and knelt down.

The sight of the infected always made her feel a bit sick. Their sickly pale grey skin, their dull eyes, and the black veins that came from their bites, and traveled up their body, across the face and into their brains. As the girl examined the body, she felt a sense of sorrow come over her. 

The dead infected was a young girl, looking no older then eighth or nine, her brown hair matted with dry blood, and the look of pain and sorrow forever across her face and in her grey eyes. It was clear she was already killed before she could hurt anyone, judging from the blood under her head. As the girl examined her, she could see a clear bite mark on the girls neck, black veins streaking out of it like plants, as they traveled up her neck and across her face. 

"You poor thing, you must have died within hours of being bitten" the white haired girl spoke sadly, feeling sorry for the young girl who now laid on the street, like she was nothing. Something about a infected child always made her upset compared to an adult. Maybe the fact that they are young, and don't have the knowledge and strength to survive on their own compared to an adult. . It was not rare for a child no older then 7 or younger, wondering around in a dangerous world like this, scared and alone, searching for someone to help them which most of the time are awfully sick people and do unimaginable things to someone so young, or looking for family. 

The girl took a moment before she grabbed her hunting knife out of its sheath, and looked down at the weapon in her hand, and then back at the corpse. "I'm sorry, but I have to do this" she apologized, before closing her eyes and brought the knife down swiftly, before pulling it out again just as fast. 

The girl opened her eyes, and looked down at the knife, that was now covered in bright red blood. It hadn't turned to black yet, so that must mean this girl must have died probably an 2 hours ago or so, which was just sadder. At least someone was kind enough to put the girl out of her misery before she could have turned fully, and hurt someone else.

The girl stood up, but not before closing the younger girls eyes as a way to pay respect or to lay her to rest. She turned her back towards the sun, watching as it came closer to disappearing over the horizon. "I better get going" the girl spoke, before running down the street. She wanted to be back at their temporary hideout before nightfall fell. It was to dangerous to be out at night. 

Luckily, it wasn't to far from where she was, only a few minutes away down the main street, and in a old office building. The girl saw the building, which looked ready to fall at any moment, and walked inside. The lobby was small, and the stairwell was right next to the doors. She flung the door opened, and slowly made her way up to the sixth floor. Once their, the girl opened the stairwell door, and down the dark hallway. 

No mater how many times she sees it, the sight of dried blood smeared on to the wall like someone was leaning against it and slid down the wall as they bled to death, it always made her uneasy, it put her on alert incase there were infected nearby or in the area, even if she already knew it was safe.

Entering one of the rooms at the end of the hallway, the girl saw four other people, one leaning by the window, two sitting on the old torn up sofa, and one leaning against the wall close to the door where she stood. Everything fell silent when she entered the room, their eyes looking at her. The girl hardly knew these people, and didn't speak to them a lot, since shes only been with these guys for a week or so. They always looked so serious, and looked like they would kill her without hesitation if she were bitten or said something.

"Rayla".

Rayla spun her head to the other door in the room, seeing Runaan standing their, his tired cold eyes looking at her. "Come inside" he spoke, as he walked back into the attached office connected to the room. Rayla quickly nodded as she walked over to the office swiftly and felt the others eye's on her, which made her feel uneasy as she walked inside, and closed the door behind her. 

Turning back to Runaan, she saw him sitting down in a old swirly chair behind a old desk, looking down at a map that was placed on the table. "You wanted me?" Rayla asked him, causing the man to look up at her, and nodded.

"You know the place we are attacking tonight?".

"Yes, the Katolis safe zone".

"Indeed it is. It's large, with high and strong walls, a strong defense and covers a large area. We have gathered info from one of our spies about the place, and locations of places we need to go in the safe zone, such as the weaponry, food storage, and the medical bay" Runaan explained, as he pointed to small locations on the hand drawn map of the safe zone.

"Alright, so how are we going to get in then?" Rayla questioned, as she crossed her arms and examined the map. "Well, after some thinking and theorizing, we suspect that the weakest point in the wall, is the front gate itself. It's much smaller and thinner then the walls. We can use the jeep, and ram it down, causing enough damage to break through, and enough noise to draw in infected. The people there will be to busy running for their lives or fighting the infected to have enough time to deal with us, giving us enough time to get in, gather what we need, and get out" Runaan explained the plan to Rayla.

"Sounds good. So what's my job?".

"Well, your job is easy. You'll be heading to the medical bay. Once we crash in, you run with the crowed, blending in, and make your way to the medical bey with a duffel bag, get as much medicine as you can, and find an escape route, and meet back here. Understood?".

"Yes sir".

"Good. Now whats our rules" Runaan spoke. Rayla stood straight, and put her hands behind her back.

"One, aim for the head. Two, trust no one. Three, only take care of yourself. Four, always have a weapon on you and don't hesitate to use it".

"Good. Now whats rule number five?".

"If you come across someone infected, aim between the eyes and kill them. Once they're bitten, there's no saving them".

"That's right, good job. Now, did you kill that man that we spotted last night?".

Rayla forced herself to relax, as she grabbed her knife, and placed it on to the desk in front of Runaan. She stood still as she watch him examine the blood soaked knife carefully, holing it in his hands, before passing it back to her. "I'm impressed Rayla. You did a good job for your first time having to execute someone who is not an infected" Runaan praised her as he stood from his chair, and around the table, before placing his gloved hand on her shoulder. 

"I'm very proud of you Rayla. You have only been with me and my group for a short amount of time out here, but you've proven yourself to be very capable" Runaan told her with a proud smile on his face. Rayla hated this. She hated being praised for something she didn't do, and lying about doing it in his face. She felt unworthy of it. 

"Now then, lets tell the others of our plans. We'll be leaving at sundown, so after the meeting, go get ready, understood?" Runaan explained to Rayla as he let go of her, and made his way towards the door, ready to open it and walk back inside.

"Yes sir!" Rayla replied as she stood straight and put her hands behind her back, like a solider replying back to a high ranking officer . She knew she didn't have to so obedient or respectful around Runaan, but it was something she was thought to do. Always listen to your superior, never question them, follow whatever orders you are given without question or hesitation. Those were the rules that were drilled into her head from a young age in the camp she grew up in, which was very stick. 

Runaan frowned. He never liked Rayla acting so tense and obediently, like a solider, but he didn't blame her. From their larger group, kids were always though to listen to higher ups and adults and never talk back. If anyone dared go against or break any rule, punishment was harsh, and unfortunately, Runaan had witness a few times when Rayla got out of line and was hurt cause of it as punishment. He would have stepped in each time, but he couldn't. He knew he would receive harsher punishment if he did so, so he stood back and watch. 

Runaan only nodded towards the girl as he walked back into the waiting room, Rayla following close behind him. As soon as he entered the room, the small group looked to him and stood up attentively, ready for their orders.

Runaan put on a cold look as he looked across his group, and began to explain the plan to them, just like he did to Rayla, giving them each their job and where to go and what to do. Once done explaining, he stood up straighter.

"We leave at sundown. Get ready and be prepared. We won't have much time here with all the people inside, and the infected we will lure in. Remember, don't get bitten, don't get killed. Understood!?".

"Yes sir!".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I SWEAR CALLUM AND RAYLA WILL MEET IN THE NEXT CHAPTER! JUST YOU WAIT! :D


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally a new chapter! I hope this is better then the last two chapters, and I did try my best and write more in this chapter. Also, the next chapter should hopefully be done soon since I have two weeks holiday now!

The sun had already set a hour or so ago, and Callum and Ezran were still playing with the small broken toys that Ezran had collected over the years. Callum laughed at the wild imagination his brother possessed, as he ran around the room with a old horse toy that had its tail and one leg missing, but it didn't matter to Ezran. He was still having fun, and imagining crazy stories about how certain toys look, like the horse looking its leg cause it was blasted off by a witch, or how one of the action figures doesn't have a face because he's the headless soldier who was cursed to have no head. 

Yeah, Ez's imagination was weird, but in a funny way. It brought some joy to Callum, knowing that even in this world were the dead can come back to life only to destroy the lives of the living, in this world where people fight to survive and get by each day, there was still those who find joy and happiness by doing small and simple things, like playing with toys like any normal child. 

Callum looked towards the window, and saw that the sky was already dark now. He frowned, and a sense of worry came over him. It was night time already, meaning if those bandits were coming, they would be coming, and soon. It could be in a few minutes, it could be a few hours. However long it takes for them to get here, if they get here, Callum wanted to be ready to leave as soon as possible. 

While Ezran was on the ground playing with the toys, Callum decided to get up and walked back over to his own bed, sitting down and reaching over to his bag that sat at the end of it. Watching his older brother, Ezran looked up to him and asked, "Is something wrong?". 

"Nothing Ez, just going to start packing in case anything happens" Callum replied, as he stuffed the boxes of ammo into the bag, and then got up in search of things to bring with them if they did have to leave. "Should I pack my own bag to?" Ezran asked Callum, not just wanting to sit there and just watch his brother do all the work. 

"Yeah, that's a good idea. You can bring whatever you want, just make sure it's useful and light so we can run fast if we have to, instead of carrying a heavy bag that slows us down" Callum told Ezran as he looked up on one of the old shelves and grabbed four cans of food that they kept there. Ezran only nodded as he got up and made his way around the room to grab his own things.

Packing their bags didn't take vary long, only taking a few minutes in totally before they were done. Callum packed some important items and things like the four cans of food, a bottle of water, a med kit that was stored in the room like every other dormitory room, along with a compass, flashlight and a map of the city and surrounding areas. Let's just say Callum liked being prepared. 

"You got your bag packed?" Callum asked his younger brother as he turned around to see him. "Yep!" Ezran replied as he turned to Callum, holding his red bag up to him. "What did you pack?" Callum questioned him as he walked over, and looking inside the bag. 

"Nothing much, just some of my own personal items and toys in case I get bored" Ezran replied with a smile, causing Callum to smile also. Callum appreciated that Ezran was trying to be happy and calm about the situation they will probably find themselves in. 

"That's good to hear. Now put on your coat. If they do come in, we want to be ready as soon as it happens. Understood?". "Yeah, understood" Ezran responded as he walked over to the closet and opening it, looking inside and searching for his jacket. While Ezran did that, Callum walked back over to his bed and laid down on the mattress, his head hitting the old flat pillow. Callum didn't need to get a jacket, since he already had his denim jacket on and his mothers red scarf wrapped around his neck.

Laying down on the bed and letting himself relax, Callum realize just how exhausted he was from today. Sure he didn't do much for most of the day, he woke up and walked around, sketching new things in his sketch book, came back to his room to draw more until Ezran came and told him that Harrow wanted to speak to him and, well you know the rest. 

Callum let out a yawn, and was about to close his eyes for a bit but his brother's voice dragged his mind from falling in to the realm of sleep. "Hey Callum?".

Slowly, Callum propped himself on his elbows, and looked across the room towards Ezran who stood by the closet, already putting on his red rain jacket. "Yeah? What is it Ezran?" Callum questioned his younger brother as he fully sat up now to face him better. 

"Could I quickly run down to the stream and get Bait? I want to bring him with us if we have to go" Ezran asked his brother, looking to his with a almost pleading look. Callum thought about it for a moment. "Ezran, if we do have to go, we would be passing by the steam anyway, so why not get him then?" Callum questioned him. 

The stream that Ezran's frog friend, which he named Bait, liked to hang out by the stream and if Ezran wasn't with his father, or with Soren, Callum or in his room, Ezran mostly spent his time by the stream playing with his toys or hanging out with Bait. It was the closest thing to a friend Ezran had, since there was no one else really around his age in the safe zone. 

"If we were running for our lives and stopped by the stream, we wouldn't have the time to look for Bait, and it would be a lot harder if we were rushing in the dark" Ezran protested to Callum, wanting to have his frog friend with them when they may have to leave, in fear that they would leave Bait behind.

Callum knew there was no arguing with Ezran. The boy was always so persistent when it came to things like these. Callum knew it would be cruel of him to say no, and have Ezran upset about it and giving Callum the silent treatment until he agreed. 

"Alright, lets go get him" Callum spoke as he began to make his way off his bed, but Ezran spoke once again. 

"No no you don't have to come with me Callum. I'll be back in 10 minutes, no need to worry about me" Ezran reassured his brother as he walked over to the bedroom door, zipping up his jacket. Ezran knew he would be fine. The stream wasn't far away from the rooms, and the lights outside were still on so it wouldn't be to dark to see, so he didn't need Callum coming with him. 

"And besides, you should probably put your art stuff in your bag to" Ezran suggested with a grin as he opened the door and left the room before Callum could protest. 

Callum was about to go run after Ezran, but after a moment he sat back down. Ezran would be alright. He'll just run down, get that frog and come back within 10 minutes. It was fine. Everything would be fine. It wasn't like something bad was going to happen within the space of 10 minutes.

It's fine.

...Until it wasn't. 

Probably 4 minutes later, there was the distant sound of a large crash, and then screaming and yelling. Callum shot up from his bed in surprise at the noise and panic crashed on to him like a wave as he quickly got to the window and peered outside. Across the safe zone, and over and between a few buildings, Callum could see the distant sight of fire and smoke. What was going on over there!?Wasn't that towards the direction of the gate!?

As soon as he saw the distant sight of fire, Callum sprung into action, garbing his bag and tossing it over his shoulder before scrabbling to leave the room. As soon as he set one foot out of the bedroom, Callum was nearly knocked over when someone nearly ran into him, Callum stumbled back as the person continued on without looking back, running down the hallway to the stairs that lead to the next upper floor of the building. 

Callum watched as people ran down the hallway of the building, some following in the same direction as the guy that nearly knocked him over, while some ran in the other direction towards the staircase to lead downstairs. 

Callum guessed some were already leaving, while the ones coming back inside where either getting belongings or looking to hide. 

Callum wasted no more time standing around, and ran towards the direction of the staircase further down the hallway. He ran past people, who were clearly in a state of panic just like himself, many looking confused on where to go or what to do as the scrambled around.

Once at the staircase, Callum quickly pushed passed people who were rushing up and down the stairs, and nearly tripped and fell over another person who was probably pushed and had fallen, now being trampled by everyone else, no one stopping to help the man. 

Callum was already outside, the cold air hit him and he could already feel the adrenaline coursing though him. 

Ezran. He had to find Ezran. 

Callum dashed in the direction of the stream, avoiding people as much as he could to avoided being pushed around or being slowed down. Callum did his best to block out the noise of screams and cries of help that he could hear behind him, trying to focus on the task at hand. He just had to find Ezran and get out of here. Easy. Totally easy. 

As Callum came closer towards the stream, there were less people around, probably either turning back to help if they can, or many making their way towards the back gates of the safe zone. Callum knew that was a bad idea. The back gates were smaller and thinner compared to the front gates, and if a lot of people were making their way towards the back gate to escape, there was going to be shoving and pushing as everyone would be panicking to get out. Also all the noise from everyone would attract infected that were outside, meaning by the time the people do get out, they would only be met by the infected and killed. 

The ground under Callum's feet soon faded from concrete and cement into dirt and mud as he came to a small opening, and saw the small stream before him, but there was one thing. There was no Ezran.

Callum looked around frantically in in the dark for his younger brother, but couldn't see him anywhere. 

"Ezran? Ezran!?" Callum called out, looking across the open area for Ezran, but he never got a reply. Callum could feel the panic and fear build up in him. Where was Ezran? Did he already get that frog and was already at the escape exit waiting for him? Did he go to the back gates like everyone else? Or did he run back to the rooms to find Callum, only to find him gone? 

Callum didn't know. He didn't know. 

Callum was scared to move. He didn't know where Ezran was. He didn't know where to go to look for him. What if he was at the escape exit already waiting for him? Or what if he followed everyone else and is now at the back gates? What if he is running back to the dorms?

After thinking for a few moments, Callum decided to go back to the dorms. It was the most likely option to go for, since Callum believed Ezran would come back for him if the bandits did break in. Swallowing down his fear and doubts, Callum turned back and made his way back to the dorms. 

He ran as quickly as he could, not wanting to run into anyone and just wanting to find his younger brother. As he got closer to the dorms, the sounds of gunfire came to his ears and the sounds of yelling and screaming became louder, which scared Callum. 

What was going on? How many bandits broke inside? Why was everyone screaming so much? 

Callum took a quick turn into a small alleyway which was a shortcut to the dorms, but as soon as he started making his way down the narrow alleyway, he stopped, frozen in his tracks. 

There a few feet away from him, he watched as a young woman was struggling to push off an infected who was on top of her, begging the infected to stop. Callum was unable to move as the infected woman, blood covering her sickly grey skin overpowered the young woman, throwing her arm off of her which gave the infected an opening to bite. He watched helplessly as the infected woman lunged forward, and took a bite out of the woman's neck, causing the woman to let out a bloodcurdling scream as the infected dug its teeth into her, before pulling back, tearing off flesh as they did so, blood spewing on to the woman's face and onto the ground. 

The young woman's eyes were wide open with pain and shock, and her screaming stopped, as her body soon began to go limp, and the infected continued to bit into her neck relentlessly, tearing off the skin and devouring it like it hadn't eaten in years.

Callum could only let out a horrified gasp at the scene before him. He wanted to run and help the young woman, but he new he couldn't now. She was bitten, flesh ripped off her and now bleeding out and being eaten alive, with no chance of surviving. A million thoughts raced through Callum's head as he watched the infected dig into the woman's body as it fed.

Why didn't I help? 

What's an infected doing here?

Are there more? 

Did the bandits break in and the infected came in to?

Why did I just stand there?

Why didn't I run to help her while I still had the chance?

Why did I just stand and watch while she was killed?

Why didn't I just run? 

Why can't I move?

Pulling himself out of his terrified and horrified state, Callum took a step backwards and then another, slowly making his way back but never taking his eyes off of the infected woman as they continued to tear off the fresh flesh. Callum knew he couldn't go to the dorms now. He couldn't. It would probably be overrun by infecteds now. 

As soon as Callum was at the alleyway exit, he turned and ran as fast as his legs could carry him, the adrenaline racing through him. He felt sick to his stomach from worry and fear. The infected had gotten in, no wonder everyone was in such a panic. 

Then Callum's thoughts went back to his younger brother. Where was Ezran!? Callum prayed that he wasn't making his ways back to the dorms, he prayed he didn't, cause if he did-

No, stop thinking like that. Ezran was fine. He's probably at the escape exit, waiting. 

Callum pushed himself to go faster, crossing the stream and pass old buildings, and watched as the safe zone walls came into view. It was becoming darker here now, since these buildings had no lights compared to the other side of the safe zone. Not wanting to be travailing in the dark blindly, Callum quickly took his bag off, and pulled his flashlight out from the from pocket of the bag, before quickly putting the bag back onto his shoulders and running again, the large flashlight in his hands.

Eventually, Callum came to the walls that toward high, which acted as a barrier to protect them from the outside world and whatever may live out there along with the infected ones. It was around 50 feet high, and made out of things like old shipping containers that were transported from a far away harbor and many other strong materials. Callum took a minutes to catch his breath, taking in gulps of air. The feelings of fear, horror and guilt washing over him. 

People were dying, being torn to shreds by the infected that have seem to have flooded into the safe zone. Callum forced himself to push away the guilt that he felt over the woman he was to scared to save. He knew that her terrified and pain stricken face was probably going to haunt him for the rest of his life, but Callum knew that if he left the safe zone and had to survive in the outside world, he will probably have to see many more incidents like that, and worse.

After a moment to calm himself the best he could, which was very difficult cause of the situation, Callum stood up and began to jog by the wall, looking for the escape exit, panic flooding him at the though that the infected could be near him by now. He had to find the escape exit so he can get out of here, and hopefully find Ezran. 

It took a few minutes until Callum came across something. It looked to be a cellar door next to the wall, with red gates preventing anyone from going down inside. This must be it. The escape exit. Callum reached down and opened one of the red gates and pulled it opened, and was surprised to find it already opened. 

A small scene of hope came to Calum. Maybe Ezran had already gone down and escaped, and was waiting for him on the other side. With that small hope, Callum descended down the small steps, closing the gate behind him to prevent from and infected from following him, which he hoped they weren't.

When he came to the bottom of the steps, he found a long cramped and dark corridor going straight, which probably lead to the outside. The panic and anxiety came flooding back to Callum once again as he looked down the corridor at the darkness before him. 

What if there were infected down here? If there was, he was surly going to be killed. What if Ezran was waiting for him outside on the other end? If he was, he's all alone and in danger of being attacked by those monsters. If Ezran was out there, Callum had to start moving and now. 

Callum raced down the corridor as swiftly as he could, his flashlight lighting the dark corridor for him, his footsteps echoing as he ran. Callum would look over his shoulders every few seconds to make sure nothing was following him or chasing after him, which he feared of. 

Luckily, he didn't have to do that for long as he came to another staircase leading up to a metal gate. Joy filled Callum as he raced up and opened the old rusty gate as quickly as he could. He hated being in cramped dark places such as that corridor. It was pretty much his phobia, being trapped in a place like this with no way to get out and escape. 

The gate made a rusty screeching sound as Callum pushed it open slowly, as he peered out to see if anyone or anything was outside. To his luck, there was nothing there. Callum let out a sigh of relief as he pushed the gate opened further, and stepped out and closing it behind him gently as to not to make any loud noises. 

However, that relief didn't last long as he heard the sound of screaming not to far away from where he was, and what scared him the most is that it was multiple screaming, yelling and gunfire. Callum knew it was coming from the back gates, judging from where the noise was coming from. Callum knew if he went right and around the bend, further up he would see the back gates. 

That was something Callum didn't want to do. He didn't want to see those people getting killed. He didn't want to be noticed. He just had to run. But there was one more thing. 

Where was Ezran? 

He wasn't here waiting for him and he wasn't at the stream, so where could he be. Callum's mind began to began to think of the worse possible case scenarios. 

Ezran could have been back at the dorms or he could be at the back gates. Callum didn't want any of those to be true. If Ezran was back at the dorms, there was no helping him, since the place was probably overrun by the infected, and if he was at the back gates, he was most likely trapped, being pushed and shoved by the crowed of people who were in a panic as the dead came for them with no chance of escaping them. 

Callum didn't want to think of those thoughts. He didn't want to think that he abandoned his younger brother. Callum didn't want to think how scared Ezran must have been. 

"Did I just let my younger brother be left behind?" Callum thought, now feeling his eyes to get watery, beginning to form tears. 

"Did I just leave my younger brother to die?" Callum though, the thoughts upsetting he greatly. Was it true? Was Ezran all alone right now, hiding away until Callum came to get him? Was he at the back gates along with everyone else with no chance to escape as the infected came closer? Or was he already dead, torn apart by those monsters and being feasted on. 

Callum felt himself begin to shake as tears threatened to slip from his eyes. He left his brother behind. He should have gone with him. He shouldn't have left him to go get that stupid stupid frog. He should have put his foot down and told Ezran to stay. Callum should have made him stay and accept the silent treatment Ezran would have given him for not letting him go. 

But he didn't. He was to tired to deal with arguing, and let his brother run off, and now look what happened. Callum was on his own, by himself, and leaving Ezran behind, not knowing where he was. Ezran could be dead for all he knew. 

"I-I'm sorry Ez. I-I'm sorry I have to leave you behind" Callum spoke quietly, holding in his tears as he looked around, before running away from the escape exit and towards the old buildings and slipping into the old alleyways. As Callum ran, the sound of gunfire and screaming began to become more distant and quieter. 

Callum didn't know how long he was running for. It could have been a few minutes, or maybe a few hours, but however long it was, Callum ran long enough till he could no longer hear anything other then his own running footsteps and his raspy breathing. His legs felt like they were burning, but he couldn't stop running. He couldn't stop now. 

Eventually the adrenaline began to to wear off, and Callum could feel his speed decrease, until he was walking slowly and was breathing heavily, taking in gulps of air to fill his lungs. He came to a narrow alleyway, and slid down the wall until he hit the ground, his legs now feeling like jelly and his lungs feeling like they were on fire from all the running. 

Callum leaned his head back against the brick wall, and focused in his breathing to try and steady it once again. He knew that he wasn't getting up any time soon, since Callum felt like he had ran a marathon, and he didn't think he could do that again any time soon. 

As Callum began to feel his body relax a bit, his thoughts wondered back to tonight's events. All those people, men, woman and children, trapped and are probably being killed painfully while he was able to escape unharmed. And then Ezran. Callum wanted to cry, he really did at the though that he himself escaped but his younger brother was left behind, and possible dead now, but he couldn't. He was to tired to cry. To exhausted to let the tears build up and fall.

Guilt washed over him like a tsunami. "Why? Why did I escape, when so many other people deserved to survive more then me? Why?" Callum thought to himself, as he pulled his knees to his chest, wrapped his arms around them and placed his head down, eyes closed. Those 'why's repeated in Callum's head for a long long time.

He didn't care if an infected came by now and spotted him, he was just to tired and drained to get up and run at this point honestly. His mind was full of questions that he knew would never be answered. Callum sat like that for a long time, to deep into his thoughts to notice the sound of slow footsteps coming his way. 

Callum only snapped out of his dark and guilt-ridden thoughts when he suddenly hear a voice next to him.

"Hey, what are you doing all the way out here by yourself?".

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so there was no Rayllum interaction here, but there will be in either chapter 2 or 3!


End file.
